Two finalists for ISU presidency announced

AMES, Iowa -- Two finalists for the presidency of Iowa State
University have been announced by the presidential search
committee.

The finalists are:

Steven Leath, vice president for research and sponsored
programs for the University of North Carolina System, Chapel
Hill

Kumble Subbaswamy, provost of the University of Kentucky,
Lexington

The search committee originally invited four candidates to be
finalists, said Labh Hira, co-chair of the search committee and
dean of the ISU College of Business. After deliberation, two of
those candidates, both citing personal reasons, withdrew from
the search, he said.

"We're very pleased to have these two accomplished
finalists seeking the presidency of Iowa State," Hira
said. "The search committee found them to be outstanding
candidates with great enthusiasm for Iowa State and its future.
We look forward to their campus visits this week."

Steven Leath

Leath has been vice president for research and sponsored
programs for the University of North Carolina system since
2007. He's also interim vice president for academic
planning. At North Carolina State, he held several positions,
including associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences and director of the NC Agricultural Research Service.
He also was a research leader and plant pathologist with the
U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research
Service; and extension plant pathologist at University of
Illinois, Urbana.

Leath helped develop the North Carolina Research Campus, a
private-public venture that fosters advancements in
biotechnology, nutrition and health.

Leath received plant sciences degrees -- a bachelor's
(1979) from The Pennsylvania State University, University Park,
and master's (1981) from the University of Delaware, Newark
-- and a doctorate in plant pathology (1984) from the
University of Illinois.

Subbaswamy has been provost of the University of Kentucky,
Lexington, since 2006. The professor of physics also is
executive director of the University of Kentucky Research
Foundation. He has served as professor and dean of the College
of Arts and Sciences at two universities -- Indiana University,
Bloomington; and the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Fla. In
a previous stint at Kentucky, he held positions of department
chair, associate dean, director of graduate studies and
professor. He also was a research associate at the University
of California-Irvine.

Subbaswamy implemented a "War on Attrition" program
at Kentucky that resulted in a 6 percent boost in first-year
retention over three years. He is a fellow of the American
Physical Society (condensed matter physics).

He received three physics degrees -- a bachelor's (1969)
from Bangalore University, Bangalore, Karnataka State, India; a
master's (1971) from Delhi University, India; and a
doctorate (1976) from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Forum feedback

"We hope many Iowa State students, faculty and staff, as
well as members of the public, will attend the forums and
provide comments on the finalists," said Roger Underwood,
search committee co-chair, ISU alumnus and self-employed
businessman. "We look forward to hearing from the
community and getting as much input as we can on this important
decision."

Commenters should provide their candidate evaluations by 9
a.m., Monday, Sept. 26. An online comment form will be
available soon on the Presidential Search site.

Video replay

Those who cannot attend the open forums will have an
opportunity to view them on video later. After the last forum
on Sept. 23, video of both forums will be released on the
Presidential Search site.

Regents make selection

After the campus visits, the search committee will complete its
task, providing written evaluations of the finalists to the
Iowa Board of Regents, who will select Iowa State's next
president.

The 18-member search committee, led by co-chairs Hira and
Underwood, has been at work since late June.

Current Iowa State President Gregory Geoffroy announced last
March that he intends to leave his post no later than July 31,
2012.